Go Sharks! Eat 'Em Up!

minivan: check
house in the suburbs: check
husband: check
2 kids: check
carpool, church, blog: check, check, check

you would think my motherhood/ adult status was pretty established, but in reality it only became official this week when I became (drumroll please).... A SOCCER MOM

Yes, Jack started soccer and yesterday had his first game. I have never been so captivated by a sporting event in my life. It was so fun. keeping Ham off the field was an athletic event in and of itself.
So for his first game he did really well. At this age the kids tend to chase the ball around in a pack. They are all dying to get a touch on the ball but then they kind of panic when it happens. Our good friend Chris coaches Jack's team and he is great. He keeps the kids motivated and keeps it positive but still takes it seriously enough that the kids want to do their best. I love that Jack is getting the exercise and sportsmanship etc. He gets out there and tries hard and hussles and I love it.

As for his natural athletic skill, he takes after his mom who's youth soccer career is to this day highlighted by an unfortunate flower picking incident that occured while I was assigned to the position of goalie. Turns out Flower Arranging and chatting with defenders came far more naturally to young Staci.

For a minute I thought that there was a chance Jack would take after his dad in sports. Look at the following series of photos to see what could have been Jack's moment of Soccer Glory
He has a clear shot at the ball. Number 10 is all over it!
He's keeping his eye on the ball! He is hustling! Go Jack!
He gets to that ball and sets up for his fireball kick!
Okay, so he overshot the approach by just a tiny bit. That pesky ball sneaked between his legs.
This shot is priceless. I have a hard time looking at the series without chuckling. His body language shows how shocked he is that the ball somehow ended up behind him. After this he backed up and had an awesome pass. Considering that it was his first game and he is both the youngest and the biggest on the team, He was a superstar. Our team (The Sharks) won the game 5 to 0. There were high fives and Capri-Suns all around afterward.

Abraham is chomping at the bit to get into soccer. Most days he insists on wearing Jack's shin guards around the house and wants to take the soccer ball into bed with him.
Who needs something as frivolous as pants when you have access to these sweet shin guards? Its business time.